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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254077">Her Only Fear</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/glamorouspixels/pseuds/glamorouspixels'>glamorouspixels</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arachnophobia, Banter, Domestic Fluff, Established Phrack, F/M, Love, Playful Sex, Reminiscing, Shameless Smut, Shower Sex, Spiders, as a coping mechanism, i saw a spider so here's porn, many movie references, ooops there's anal fingering</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:49:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254077</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/glamorouspixels/pseuds/glamorouspixels</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>“Spider in the bathroom,” Phryne gasped, and fast as a sunbeam she threw herself against his chest. Jack sank back into the pillows, deflated with a soft exhale as the fight went out of him – but not before weighing her with an incredulous look. “A real one!”</i>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Her Only Fear</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was not planned, but I've been told my arachnophobia is...way worse than most people's, and for quite some time now I've been thinking about having Phryne react the way I would because I found her responses to spiders to be surprisingly calm. (For context: I live in Germany and pretty far removed from nature, which makes cellar spiders the extent of my spider experience. Yet I completely lose it every time I see one 😂) ✨Unfortunately✨, I was recently given the opportunity to gather first-hand inspiration when I met a spider casually hanging out in the bathtub at four in the morning, and no one wanted to stay awake with me after killing it. Thankfully, Phryne's got Jack.</p><p>And thank you to Particularfavorite for beta reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As much as he treasured his own antique armchair, once a sturdy stone grey before it grew, in spots, soft and threadbare, Phryne’s bed came out nothing short of victorious. Jack, who saw little need for indulging in frill and silk-clad opulence, would bat no eye if it all took flight and left to him was only Phryne.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But soft sheets closing around his naked skin, he felt like he was flying as the book’s words enchanted all of him. The page beneath his fingers was worn sheer with use like a papery breath, black letters almost floating. Jack smiled softly to himself; from the ensuite bathroom, Phryne’s hushful sounds as she saw to her nightly routine completed the spirit of calm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wriggling a little, submerging himself in the pillows’ depths, Jack flipped the page with noble care and crossed his legs leisurely at the ankles as he did. Just then, there came the powerful crash of an object dropping; he was seized by a wave of ice-cold shock. The bathroom door flew open, fighting a losing battle against the wall, where its wooden edge came to a violent halt and made Jack wince.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Released in the explosion was Phryne, who was fast as a sunbeam in throwing herself against his chest. To her chest she clutched a milky white towel, generously sized, but to take her in there wasn't time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her breath was coming so hard, tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. Jack felt more than he heard the heaving, had gathered her inevitably close so the roaring of his own heart surrounded her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Always pale, her complexion had taken on an ashen tone against which her wide eyes were wildly glinting, their seafoam shade taking possession of her delicate face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spider in the bathroom,” Phryne gasped, her bare skin bursting with goosebumps where his hands had cupped. Jack sank back into the pillows, deflated with a soft exhale as the fight went out of him – but not before weighing her with an incredulous look. “A real one!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>When cool fingers danced over his face, slightly trembling, from inside him bubbled up a disbelieving little laugh. She hadn’t </span><em><span>quite </span></em><span>grasped</span> <span>what was troubling him, but a surge of warmth accompanied the coming memory and he drew her in for a gentle kiss, marveled at the ease with which she responded – she parted her lips and played with his tongue, yet in his arms she felt stiff and a little fragile, which proved infallibly that a real spider was at play.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Jack conceded upon carefully removing her from his now aching body, “I'll deal with it.” He almost kept from sighing in defeat while he rose and donned his pajama bottoms, which were to serve as armor against the vicious beast. Phryne, in turn, picked up his warm discarded blanket and wrapped it around herself as well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Curled up rigidly at the top of the bed, she watched as Jack entered the room and crossed into dangerous territory. Of course, Phryne couldn't help examining his trim waist and hips barely covered by the low-hanging pants, carelessly donned; the interplay tanned skin and muscles as he craned his neck, and the serious expression with which he raked the walls in seeking their intruder. He was radiating fierce resolve, held his head high – not sure that he'd emerge the victor, what was she to do but commit her brave man to memory?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where…?” Jack asked eventually and she had hardly noticed the rising heat. It wasn't until spindly legs once more crowded her mind that she sensed the unpleasant shivers returning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jaaack!” Her own voice sounded high and terribly shaky; her skin felt alight with tiny crawls. “In the tub! It was waiting for me by the drain, hiding there so I wouldn't see it until I was naked and standing right next to it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Another shudder; the spider’s hunt for her body remained all too fresh on Phryne’s mind, moving gingerly toward her across the porcelain. There was no denying it – an evil mastermind, it had known just how to move for the most efficient fright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now go, before it comes for me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pointed vaguely at the tub, frowned as Jack quirked a smile before vanishing – “A cellar spider?!” – and then there was only the rush of water running.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he surfaced from behind the door, she inquired softly, “Are you completely certain that it's gone?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Phryne. It was already dead when you called for me; the hot water must have killed it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thought of its writhing body she had to suppress with all her strength. To calm herself, Phryne swept her eyes over his broad chest, then the trail of hair that sculpted a path low into his pajama bottoms and stirred something hot within her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come here,” she whispered, pressing her thighs together even as her body loosened, a low steady pulse starting at her core. Slowly, a deep breath went out of her as she took her rightful place across Jack’s lap. His cotton pants were in the way, but she felt his strongly muscled thighs encased by her soft ones and pressed close with a surge of affection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” her gentle lips and tongue engraved upon his mouth, and they fell into another kiss after Jack pulled back and nodded gravely, all deep dark eyes and soft lips beautifully set in fearlessness. Afterwards, Phryne settled back against his strong bare chest, loving the way he nestled her closer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every whisper across her skin made her shiver, from the bedsheets to gusts of mere air, and she kept her arms by her chest in protection, so shaken was she by the encounter at her most vulnerable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But not only had Jack saved her; calloused fingertips sending bolts of electricity up her bare arm, he looked thoughtfully about the room and Phryne thought they were invincible. She pressed back a little more, made herself comfortable on his muscular thighs, and released a soft breath as her head landed there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That made him look down at her: “What happened to your shower?” Jack asked and his voice acquired a shade of amusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phryne groaned, indicating that their position was too good to even think of moving before the year was up. “If I go on the hunt for a new place immediately,” she softly said after some consideration, “we can be out of here by morning. We’ll take our things and Mr. Butler; the spider can keep Wardlow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack brought up his hand, which had been painting soft strokes across the sensitive inside of her elbow, to swat at her shoulder playfully. There, Phryne trapped it and laced her fingers with his. She appeared so pleased with herself, Jack’s heart fluttered as he fondly shook his head, floating with content in her daydream’s bubble – how easily he'd joined her new reality did not evade his notice, a fantasy built around his place in her life.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Or,” he retorted and thought that his voice was a little too raw, “you could take a quick shower, and I'll make it up to you when you're out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fingertips exploring the delicate swells of her breasts marked his proposal, making reason of her impulsive plan. Jack went on until the towel released, unclothing glorious small breasts that made his mouth water; he could all but taste the sweetness of her skin expanding on his tongue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Phryne sighed, defeated. She must not have caught his staring, for she sat up without a fuss and Jack felt a pinch of disappointment as he watched her go. Two steps from the bed, something made her hesitate. There seemed to be a whole world between her and the bathroom, and Jack was surprised she could see the walls from where she stopped to investigate.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will you come in and keep watch?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack’s heart took the prize over rational thought, but just once more he attempted logic. “It's gone, Phryne. I saw it flush down the drain.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His approach proved a miscalculation; Phryne squealed and shrank even further from the room. A long deep breath, then she advanced on the bathroom carefully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a whole second, Jack thought she really might go in, his hand already flirting with his book’s worn-out cover. A sight far more amusing than he cared to admit, Phryne paused, entirely naked, in the doorway, defiantly lifting her chin. “But,” her pretty pout entranced him, “it'll be your fault if the spider troops come for me to avenge their friend’s death.” With that, she strode into the room and never looked back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“However would I live with that?” Jack muttered fondly to himself upon standing up and following.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Surely, he ought to have been more surprised to find her not inside the tub but suspiciously eyeing it, assessing its width for unwanted visitors and leaving her perfectly exposed to his arms’ embrace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I'll stay,” he mumbled in her ear as one hand glided downward to push into the thick dark curls that covered her mound, “but you can't persuade me to come in and join you.” The words almost hid her shaky groan, and with a soft brush of his lips to the top of her head, Jack was gone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Phryne smiled mildly over her shoulder, seeing that he'd found his place atop the closed toilet seat. “I wouldn't dream of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go ahead, Miss Fisher,” responded Jack, equally airily, crossed his legs, and stole only one brief glance as she pulled the shower curtain shut.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Indeed, he lasted till she was rinsed and her soft body shiny, raindrops mapping his fingers' path down the gentle slopes of her breasts and glistening as stars against the black of her pubic hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Jack encircled her waist and his heavy cock, hot and familiar, pressed against the soft curve of her belly, a happy sigh spoke of her enthusiasm. Phryne's own palm was a cup of safety against his cheek, which he gently nudged against as the water spread.  Hot steam ascended to encase them, curling around them and leaving no gaps. In the air, the scent of lavender hung heavily enough to mask Phryne’s own musky essence considerably – it was his last thought before she tore his thoughts to shreds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, Jack,” she pronounced, soft as velvet, against his mouth. “Funny I should see you here.” Her voice held a satisfied chime; she was far more pleased with herself than he could condone, not in the least surprised by Jack’s easy caving. To remedy that, he slid his tongue between her parted lips and lightly suckled on her own, causing a deep groan to soar from within her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack tried to step a fraction aside, but fingers spearing into his hair kept him anchored. By now he was quite thoroughly drenched, enjoying immensely the easy glide of skin on skin, her little squirms as her core pulsed hotly from his kisses alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Seduction by spider?” He marveled; their eyes fluttered open and met. “You're repeating yourself, Miss Fisher.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know I'm all for perfecting my craft.” Her gasped-out breaths were music to his ears, harmonizing sweetly with her hands’ aimless wandering. Utterly distracted, Jack hummed in recognition, but more than her touching was on his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If there had been a real tarantula that night, they would've heard your scream all the way back in England.” Slipping swiftly from his mouth, the words betrayed just how often he'd traced that path – and what might have been, had she not let eight scrabbling legs determine their fate. Besides, there had been screams, later, slicing through the mild warmth of the desert night. Smoothing his palms down the globes of her ass, Jack smiled in reminiscence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True. But you fell for it.” As she poked one accusing finger at his chest, it was all he could do not to melt into a lovelorn puddle at her feet; his adoration was so intense, Jack had to turn his head into her wet hair to get a grip again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're sure about that?” He'd had no plans to break to her that he'd seen straight through her little schemes, never wanted to steal away that look of pure delighted smugness she was giving him through pooling eyes. Carefully, Jack scraped his teeth on Phryne’s earlobe and relished the moan she shuddered out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I did at last get you where I wanted you,” she conceded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was true, and nothing in the world made him happier – but Jack found that their back-and-forth rather added to his adoration, stoking the fire always simmering. And so he said, capturing her lips again so the words’ vibration echoed through her, “At the expense of two perfectly good bullets and scaring our camels half to death. Turn around?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you,” she replied softly. Jack raised an eyebrow but let Phryne’s approving sigh wash over him as he obliged, and cool lips on his shoulder and the slight pressure of her breasts rewarded him. When she used his back to stimulate her puckered nipples, whimpering tender breaths against his damp nape, he reached a helpless hand against the shower tiles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Against his back came Phryne’s pliant cheek, her own hand sneaking to his front blindly as the other settled, for now, on his hip. Over his wildly beating heart, she barely heard herself speaking. “You've got to admit, riding together definitely had its merits.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arching absentmindedly into her ghosting fingertips, which fluttered like drops of water between his abdomen and chest while her face explored his muscled back, Jack found himself agreeing. Dawn had ascended, leaving one camel all too jumpy. Holding Phryne in the light of day had proven rather splendid, every curve under his hands had been a thrill and not only due to learning her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And I would like you to know that I stayed reasonably quiet just now.” When she next touched him, Jack groaned loudly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You did?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Desperate desire clipped his words; her hand was doing wicked things to him. Phryne toyed with his nipple, scratching it and lightly twisting while she held him firmly but carefully in place. Coloring her voice was a gleeful smile as she said, reaching lower to cradle his cock, “Unlike a certain Detective Inspector.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the way he whimpered, it might have well been his soul that she had touched. “I wonder what other sounds I might coax from you,” she whispered adoringly. Phryne sounded heartbreakingly gentle and genuinely curious, and had to close her eyes against the onslaught of love at seeing his openness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She found safety from Jack’s trembling body, dropped her head to feel his muscles vulnerably flexing. Her hand on his hip began to wander slowly, composing a counterpoint of security to the one on his cock – he was almost blind with arousal, saw an unending wasteland of tiles; the dark margins seemed to coil and writhe as Phryne consumed him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her hand was stroking him dizzy, making bold caresses up and down his burning hardness. Jack let his head slump forward and forced open his blurry eyes, which descended upon her slender fingers, white and nimble on his cock’s flushed red.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Phryne,” he choked out, his hips helplessly jerking into her caring grasp. Short nails scraped along the velvet skin, then her hand sheathed him protectively and it was all he could do not to buck forward and fuck her hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I've got you,” she whispered, her heart making a strange painful twist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack sent his focus to Phryne’s body, felt her puffed-up nipples and her breath, reassuring as a desert breeze. Behind him, awe wracked Phryne as though it was she who was being stroked to delirium. In her hand she traced his throbbing length, discovered the ghost of tears in her eyes for knowing it. Nothing she cherished more than seeing her darling man loosening, suspending control to grant her the gift of his pleasure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, both hands worked between his legs, making him shudder and gasp by lightly palming his balls and whispering her thumb and forefinger down the seam of his scrotum; all the while, Jack’s cock wept hot drops onto her other hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Phryne,” he repeated; the world giving way, his body’s response getting away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Jack,” she murmured encouragingly, hoping to ground him with her voice as he began to tense – before twisting free of Phryne’s attentions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your turn,” he ground out. Her own need had become almost unimportant in seeing him shake so beautifully. All unwillingly, sadness flooded her. Then, it was Phryne whose world spun and she found herself facing the wall, her head turned as Jack’s tongue fucked her mouth and his palms splayed flat over her belly and breast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whimpering at the sensation of his broad hands claiming her, Phryne pushed frantically towards his grasp. Water and mist cloaked his movements, denying her any friction as she arched to bury her breast in his palm and drifted against him all too swiftly for her liking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fingers of his one hand just skimmed the top of her soaked curls, pressing her so near against his body that Jack could rub his cock between the silky flesh of the cheeks of her arse. Clenching them slightly, she formed a tight passage for Jack’s cock to fuck. His was an unfair advantage; holding her as close as he desired, it was so that she could hardly move and his ragged breath eased somewhat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, Miss Fisher,” Jack murmured and over the shell of her ear moved his warm breath and swollen lips, “I believe you were going to demonstrate your new-found ability to remain dead silent. Not that I would ever doubt you…” A strong squeeze of her breast followed the dare, putting her earlier claim to an immediate test.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Burning up from Jack’s voice alone, Phryne let her breath stutter in her throat and trembled as his assured touch pressed lightly on her nipple, which yielded to the flat of his palm. “Oh, there are other ways to show how much I enjoy you,” she smiled around uneven breaths – surely, he wouldn't know how close she was to unraveling. “Is that a challenge?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you'd like,” he retorted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No reckless reaction came, and at her back he swallowed thickly. Experimentally, he tugged at her hardened nipple but Phryne made only the softest gasp and, rosy cheeks burning, grinned at him over her shoulder. But smugness gave way to parted lips as his fingertips connected with her slick heat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack had trouble aiming his attention as he worked to draw out any sound, she was so tight against his cock now. Neither his fingers pinching her pearl nor stroking her inside brought out more than a silent cry and increasing shaking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The heat of her was shocking, her cunt grasping at his fingers as he slid them deep inside, hardly letting him withdraw to ease in even deeper. Satisfied, Jack found that he could now smell her desire on the damp air, swirling to tangle with lavender’s fresh bite.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The relentless rhythm inside her she recreated by thrusting back, clenching her inner muscles and the cheeks of her arse frantically. Phryne almost cried out, then, as Jack’s fingers curled and a third joined the others in her tight pussy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her movements astonished him; in the quiet, every drop of water was fire to his skin, as was the shifting of her shuddering body. On her legs she was beginning to sway; Phryne pushed one hand down to pinch and pull at her own clit, almost shrieking. The other brought to her lips his trembling fingers, which she sucked strongly into the warm hollow of her mouth and laved with the rough texture of her tongue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck, Jack,” whispered Phryne miserably around him in her mouth, letting her teeth drag tiny bites along his knuckles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like a dagger to his heart and surges to his cock that were bright as fire, her quiet voice tore something in him apart. He all but dreaded the expected whimper as he murmured upon drawing his fingers from her mouth, “May I have these back?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although at first she shook her head, Phryne’s trembling grew in force as Jack reached between their bodies and touched the tip of a single wet finger into the cleft of her arse, taking his time to caress the puckered hole there lovingly. Tenderness swept him as, the very tip of his fingers sliding into her second opening, Phryne conceded at last.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“God, Jack, more!” Then there came a long low moan, for he pushed along and she nudged backward, seeking to meet his finger’s very slow pressure while his other hand rubbed sparks into her slippery clit. Jack watched raptly, pressed his lips to her temple’s damp skin. Together, they gasped a fragile melody from cherishing the bond of such an intimate nature, from feeling him so snugly and perfectly upon moving inside her ass.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phryne needed more but both his hands were already on her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>in</span>
  </em>
  <span> her; she felt his fingers and cock and lips and pressed back frantically, screwing her eyes shut in concentration. Two of her own fingers she buried in her cunt; and she simply came apart for feeling Jack’s explorations so vividly through her own snug flesh. Around her own fingers sucked all the way into her core, and the single finger that fucked her arse so stunningly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Jack,” Phryne whisper-chanted before she was claimed by breathtaking waves and clamped down around the fingers inside, Jack’s own world narrowing as he struggled to hold on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rather too soon she turned in his arms, still slightly quivering, and whispered, “Take me, Jack,” then took his jerking hips in her legs’ tender cradle upon being lifted to the shower wall. So painfully sensitive, having him drive into her cunt caused her to weakly sob against his lips, feeling a love like no other in their carnal connection. Phryne met his gaze, allowed tears to build up. Her entire being shook around his penetrating cock, every ridge and vein of which she felt deep inside. She hadn’t yet recovered fully, was laid open as he pushed her apart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack was rapidly climbing, held her eyes the entire time. So good, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>close </span>
  </em>
  <span>– their sapphire pools almost drowned him and willingly he fell into their bliss. A half-dozen strokes, and he was skirting the edge and basking in Phryne’s little cries and trembling, the way her pussy madly clung to him. Mercilessly, he thrust in over and over, always deeper into her, bright hues dancing as he caught a glimpse beyond her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go over,” gasped Phryne, taking his earlobe into her mouth and lightly sucking – and, his pelvis pressed to hers in a burning kiss, he did, freezing mid-stroke as the abyss of fire surrounded him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he next emerged, it was to gentle fingers traversing his back and Phryne’s lips against his wet temple. To water flushing any evidence of their arousal away, and leaving only a sense of peace as deep as his soul. Clutching her close, he clung like a lifeline to Phryne’s words of reassurance, felt her lovely voice brush aside the fog around his mind – she murmured praise and words of love and of his bravery. Jack couldn't help smiling at the memories brought on, Phryne’s habit to use eight-legged visitors to lure him. Time and again he proved powerless against her charms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You're smiling,” she stated upon loosening her legs, slightly shaky, from around his waist and instead flung her arms over his shoulders. Although he hadn’t noticed, knowing his heart would always smile while in her grasp, Jack hummed his affirmation against her lips as she stretched upward in a feather kiss. She whispered her tongue across his upper lip and was on him again once the shower was behind them, wrapping him again in her body's velvet warmth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Later,” promised Jack, and released the towel in which he'd bundled her up, which had proved sufficient shelter against the midnight cold threatening. “I haven't fulfilled all of my spider duties.” Being picked up, Phryne’s eyes filled with intrigue and emotion. They sank together between the silken sheets and Jack’s head onto her beating heart. There, the mass of pillows nearly swallowed her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being in her arms was like floating in a dream of clouds. Jack drew a single finger down the slight rise of her opposite breast, tracing the creamy skin there, which remained rosily tinted from the water's steam. His eyelids grew heavy and he was paying the motion no mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Spiders aren't so bad now, are they?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Beneath his face, Phryne’s chest rose in silent chuckling. “No, they are.” He could practically hear her wrinkling her nose, but her voice was cotton-soft and warm as honey. “Though I do love this side of you. All strong and brooding, keeping me safe from my only fear…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her fingertips danced along the arm exposed, but Jack could tell that she was more than tempting him. He had once been labeled an ignorant detective, oblivious to the workings of Phryne’s heart. Now, every amateur would've spotted the signs: Phryne Fisher sounded nervous, just walking the line of terrified.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your only fear?” He kept a gentle tone, wanting to discern the path unfurling, but curiosity outwitted him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, darling. We've been over this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can't quite seem to remember,” he teased. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phryne made a soft little huff. In her hands she covered one of his, let it climb to her lips and kissed his knuckles. Her mouth still there, she whispered, “I love you,” leaving Jack to shut his eyes against his own traitorous breathlessness. But no pause given, she rolled atop him and carried on. “I love you way too much to be afraid of you.” This time, it was his nose that fell victim to her kisses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmmh,” he sighed, enjoying her soft lips on him immensely, and not insignificant was the eruption of pride, glee, affection, of naked awe of what she'd said in that huffy tone of which he was so fond. Jack was only half teasing when he encouraged, “One more time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He supposed he deserved the subsequent eye roll. “I love you,” she said, a little grumbly as he hugged her tight, “but you'd do well to remember the price.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jack chuckled. “What, killing your spiders?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds like a fair arrangement,” he agreed. “I'd better live up to it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pleased, she cuddled close and on his bare chest her cheek plumped in a sated smile. “Good. So far you've done a marvelous job keeping the spiders at bay. The rest isn't too bad, either.” He murmured an amused thanks. “And now, sleep. You're nice and warm and I can't think straight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The light went out, and, rustling a little, Phryne yanked at their cocoon until comfort took hold, feeling, in Jack’s arms, entirely invincible. Dark and voiceless was Phryne’s boudoir, but the shadows were kind and held no menace – or spiders, thanks to the fearless work of Jack Robinson, the man who held her tightly but never greedily. Who was dropping tiny kisses to the top of her head, letting her know that nothing could get past them and their love.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phryne almost missed the way he briefly stiffened; his gaze darted apologetically about the room, over the cover of safety that nothing could pierce...except the soft brush of wind that was reaching its hand under the bathroom door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” began Jack carefully, “I think I left the window open.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Phryne flicked at his shoulder before she descended into star-touched sleep.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not entirely sure what happened here; I saw a spider and an hour later, the outline had appeared in the notes of my phone and I didn't have to do much thinking. This is a lot of dialogue for my standards!!! Thank you for reading! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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